An aerial view of the tip of Schoodic Peninsula.

Working Waterfront

The Schoodic story

By Jacqueline Weaver Schoodic Point and its acres of pristine shoreline and deep woodlands dodged a bullet more than a century ago when plans by John Godfrey Moore to develop the pristine property were derailed by his premature death. Moore, the son of a Steuben sea captain, made his fortune… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

With endowment, Haystack looks toward the future

By Laurie Schreiber One of the most defining characteristics of the legendary Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, an international craft school in Deer Isle, is the campus itself, designed by American architect Edward Larrabee Barnes and overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. When the campus opened in 1961, 11 years after the… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Turning the island fundraiser upside down

By Phil Crossman Lest any feel we on these islands, largely isolated during our long Maine winters, might endure a less than inspiring existence, consider a recent proposal for the winter of 2020. Like any small town, we on Vinalhaven all share in the successes and misfortunes of our fellow… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Power outage pizza party

By Courtney Naliboff It was a dark and stormy night. A blizzard was dumping several feet of sticky snow on North Haven, sometime in late 2008 or early 2009. I had gathered several friends at my house for dinner, including our new Island Institute fellow, and my plan was to… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Winners rise to top in decade of recipes

By Sandy Oliver Apparently, the average American household cooking repertoire contains something like 20 dishes which are the backbone of family meals, frequently repeated. I don’t know if that includes take-out fare or pizza, which are usually less common on Maine islands. Around here, the garden drives seasonal variations so… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Island life teaches me the ‘focal’ way of understanding

Reflections is written by Island Fellows, recent college grads who do community service work on Maine islands and in coastal communities through the Island Institute, publisher of The Working Waterfront. By Caroline Carrigan Swan’s Island is a place of true simplicity. There are just three to five main roads, depending on… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

The joys of a quiet January

By Barbara Fernald Ahhhh! The month of January on Islesford is one of my favorites. It’s not because the island has so much to offer at this time of year, but because it gives me two things I’ve been yearning for since last spring: time and quiet. Ever since our… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

A journey of infinite hope, faith, art—and prejudice

By Carl Little This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. As Lauren Katzenberg noted in the New York Times “At War” newsletter last August, “There will be many commemorations: the liberation of the concentration camps, Victory in Europe Day, the dropping of the atomic… SEE MORE

Jon Cheston and Nancy Hauswald aboard their boat

Working Waterfront

To pee (or not to pee) at sea

By Nancy Hauswald Thursday, June 4, 1987 Approx. 75 miles off the coast of the Carolinas The storm drags on, unrelenting in its pummeling of Merry Yarn and us. Jon is down below, glued to the nav station, poring over the chart, plotting our location, getting constant fixes, and keeping… SEE MORE

Working Waterfront

Generational fault lines, not earthquakes

By Tom Groening All generalizations are false, right? Well, yes. Including that one. But I’ll admit that assigning distinctive qualities to groups of people is to step on a slippery slope. Careers have ended when high-profile people have done so, and those falls from grace are usually deserved. Yet it… SEE MORE